Chinese Billionaire Jack Ma Retires From Alibaba, Company CEO Daniel Zhang Takes Over

Ma's retirement comes after a torrid couple of weeks for his rival tech CEOs in China. However, he referred his departure as "the beginning of an era" rather than an end.

Alibaba co-founder and chairman, Jack Ma, has officially stepped down as the company chairman today - on the day the charismatic entrepreneur turned 55. (Getty images)

New Delhi: Alibaba co-founder and chairman, Jack Ma, has officially stepped down as the company chairman today - on the day the charismatic entrepreneur turned 55. He has retired from the Chinese e-commerce giant to devote his time to philanthropy focused on education, as he told the New York Times in an interview. Ma's retirement comes after a torrid couple of weeks for his rival tech CEOs in China. However, he referred his departure as "the beginning of an era" rather than an end. Ma handed over the keys of his company to 46-year-old Daniel Zhang in an unprecedented succession plan that will slowly take the focus off one of China's most recognisable corporate names over the next 12 months, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba, reported. Ma was an English teacher before starting Alibaba in 1999 and built it into a multibillion-dollar internet colossus, becoming one of the world's richest men and a revered figure in his homeland. His own worth has soared along with that of the company, which was valued at USD 420.8 billion based on its share price at the close of trade on Friday. Ma, who gave up the title of CEO in 2013, said he now planned to devote his time and fortune to education. Earlier on Monday, while announcing his retirement plans, Ma said he will remain Alibaba's executive chairman during the year-long period to ensure a "smooth and successful" transition, and stay on as an Alibaba director until a shareholder' meeting in 2020. Who is Jack Ma? Jack Ma is part of a generation of billionaire entrepreneurs who made their fortunes as China embraced the digital age, creating some of the country's largest and most successful companies in the space of little more than a decade. Huge conglomerates like Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com are to China what Facebook and Google are to the United States. Ma is the first of his generation of uber-wealthy tech bosses to retire, a rare move in a country where business figures often run their empires well into their 80s -- Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing only retired in May at the age of 89. Ma's rags-to-riches story is particularly remarkable Born into a poor family in Hangzhou, eastern Zhejiang province, Ma became a university teacher but gave the job up after discovering the internet. After being knocked back by US venture capitalists in 1999, a cash-strapped Ma persuaded friends to give him USD 60,000 to start Alibaba, which operated out of an apartment in Hangzhou. "The first time I used the internet, I touched on the keyboard and I find 'well, this is something I believe, it is something that is going to change the world and change China," Ma once told CNN. The company, still headquartered in his hometown, initially allowed businesses to sell products to each other online but soon morphed into China's largest online retail market. It transformed how Chinese people shop and pay for things, especially through the now ubiquitous Alipay digital payment service. The Alibaba empire now spans well beyond online retail and payments to include cloud computing, digital media and entertainment, with sterling revenue growth that jumped another 61 percent in the quarter ending June 30. As he prepares to leave the company, Ma is among China's richest men with a net worth estimated by Forbes at 38.6 billion. Ma has inspired strong devotion among his employees and users, drawing comparisons with late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs -- although he practised a more open management style. A devotee of tai chi, he has made references to Chinese martial arts in both business strategy and corporate culture. (with inputs from PTI)